Pasteurizing apparatus.



0. EICK.

PASTBURIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION IILED DBO.1G,1908.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

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COLUMBIA ILANDGRAPH CO., WASIIINUTUN- l) C attoumup O. EIGK.

PASTEURIZING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED DEO.16, 190a Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

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PASTBURIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 16, 1908.

1,001,517. Patented Aug.22, 1911.

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PASTBURIZING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION mum 11110.16, 190a.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

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COLUMBIA FLANOORAI'H C0. WASHINGTON. u. c.

O. EICK.

PASTEURIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION rum) 1130.16, 1908.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

COLUMBIA PLANDURAPII cu.,wAslllNflTuN. I). C,

en ire OTTO EICK, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

PASTEURIZING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 16, 1908.

Patented A11 22, 1911.

Serial No. 467,886.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that T, ()rro Eioit, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Pasteurizing Apparatus, of which the't'ollowing is a specification.

My present invention pertains to improvements in pasteurizing apparatus,the construction and advantages of which will he hereinafter set forth,re'terence being had to the annexed drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus; Fig. 2 a verticallongitudinal sec tional view, taken on the line 22 ct" Fig. l Fig. 3 asimilar view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4:; Fig. t a transversevertical sectional iew, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 anelevation of the discharge end ot the a )paratus, the main drivingshat't and its supporting members being broken away; Figs. (3 and 7,perspective views of the tank, with varying arrangements of partitions.and designed to give ditl'ercnt paths ot travel to the containers.

The main object ot the present invention is to provide a simple andetlicicnt apparatus for pasteurizing material in bottles or other(amtaincrs, in which relatively few parts are employed, so that theapparatus is not liable to breakage and disarrangement.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction in whichthe bottles are first passed down through a body of water which has beenslightly heated, and then into a body of warmer or hot water, throughwhich body they are traversed twice the distance they passed through theinitial cold or partially warmed water, and finally, after the contentsof the bottles have been pasteurized, the bottles are passed through thecold water and thereby gradually restored to their normal temperature.Tn passing through the cold water, the bottles tend to impart their heatto the water and to bring it to the desired temperature.

The apparatus in a broad sense may be said to consist of a. single tank,divided into two compartments, one containing hot water and the secondcooler water, said compartments communicating with each other at theirlower ends, combined with means for first traversing the bottles downthrough the cold water compartment, thence upward through the hot watercompartmcnt, thence downward through the hot water con'ipartment, andfinally up through the cold water compartment to the point of discharge.The construction of the apparatus is such that all parts are readilyaccessible, and the use of long chains, so conunon in modern pasteurizing apparatus, is rendered unnecessary, relatively short chains orbelts being employed in their stead.

In the drawings, 5 denotes the tank, preferably oblong in form andprovided with a central hollow partition (3, which as will be. seen uponreference to Fig. t, extends from the upper portion of the tank to apoint short of the bottom thereof, so as to divide the tank into twocompartments, designated by 7 and 8, 7 denoting the hot watercompartment and 8 the cold or warm water compartment.

An endless chain or carrier 9, provided with a series ot' push-plates orlugs '10 extends throughout the length of the tank and beyond the endsthereot, as clearly seen in Fig. l, the upper stretch of the chainstandiug slightly above the upper edge of the tank, see Fig. 41-, sothat: the lugs or push plates '10 may come into contact with the lowerportion ot baskets or crates 11, which are primarily placed upon a way12, located at the forward or in-t'ced end of the tank.

Any suitable means may be employed for placing the baskets in positionupon the way, an endless chain 13 being shown For the purpose ofillustration.

The chain 9 passes around an idler '14- at: the intake end of theapparatus. which idler is mounted upon a shaft carried in bearings 15adjustably connected to a bracket '16, Figs. 2 and 3. The upper stretchof the chain is supported upon a cross plate 17 (see Figs. 3 and 4)secured in the upper portion of the hollow partition (3, while the lowerstretch runs in a trough or channel 18, mounted upon suitable crosspieces or brackets 19 secured to the inner walls of the partition. Atthe discharge end of the machine the chain 9 passes about a sprocket 20mounted upon a shaft to which motion is imparted through suitablegearing, as will be here inaftcr set forth. A

A pair of chains 22, 23, connected to each other by a series ofcross-bars 24 from which are suspended open-ended basket-carrying frames25, pass about idlers 26 located near the bottom of the tank, so thatthe lower stretch of the chains passes beneath the lower portion of thehollow partition 6. Said chains likewise pass over idlers 27, located inthe upper portion of the tank, and about sprocket-wheels 28, 29, seeFig. 1. A second pair of chains, 30 and 31, provided with cross-bars anddepending basket-carrying frames, the same as the other chains,

pass about idlers 32, located adjacent to thebottom of the tank, so thatthe lower stretch of the chain will pass beneath the hollow partition 6,the same as the other chains, the chains also passing over idlers 33located in the upper portion of the tank and over driven sprockets 34and 35.

As will be seen upon reference to Figs. 2 and 4, the sprockets 26 and 32are, respectively, carried by brackets 26 and 32 secured to a crossplate 91, said plate extending across the bottom of the tank andupwardly to a point slightly above the lower end of the partition towhich it is secured. This plate serves merely as a supporting plate andleaves the compartments 7 and 8 substantially free throughout theirlength.

Mechanism is provided to drive one carrier, composed of chains, bars andbaskets, and the other carrier composed of the other chains, bars andbaskets, in opposite directions (in all the forms except the modifiedform illustrated in Fig. 6); that is to say, the forward carrier, orthat at the in-take end, will pass downwardly into the coldwatercompartment, thence beneath. the partition up through the hot-watercompartment, while the other carrier passes down through the hot-watercompartment and up through the cold-water compartment. This drivingmechanism acts intermittently, and while the carriers are at rest thechain 9 comes into action and serves to transfer one crate or basketfrom the first carrier to the second carrier, and to remove a crate fromthe second carrier to the point of discharge, a new crate likewise beingintroduced into the first carrier. It will thus be seen that after abasket or crate'has been traversed by the first carrier through thecold-water compartment, thence upward through the hot-water compartment,itis transferred to the second carrier and moved downwardly through thehot water compartment and finally up through the cold-water compartment,when it is discharged from the machine. To effect this operation, thegearing shown, or its equivalent, may be employed.

36 designates the driving shaft, carrying a worm which meshes with awornrwheel 37, upon whose shaft is mounted an arm 38 carrying aninwardly-projecting stud or roller 39, which coacts with the Genevasteps 40 and 41, acting alternately upon said stops. The lower member 40imparts motion to a gear 42, which meshing with a pinion 43 impartsrotation to a gear 44 which in turn imparts motion to a pinion 45,carried upon a shaft 46. Said shaft has secured to its opposite end abevel gear 47 which meshing with a corresponding gear 48 imparts motionto a shaft 49, upon which the sprocket 20, hereinbefore referred to, issecured. This gearing, as will be seen, will impart an intermittentstep-by-step motion to the feed chain or conveyer 9. While it is inoperation the Geneva stop 41 is at rest. Said stop 41 has secured to ita gear 50, which meshes with a pinion 51, mounted upon an axle with agear 52, said gear 52 in turn meshing with a pinion 53 secured to astub-axle. Said pinion 53 meshes with a pinion 53*, mounted upon a shaft54, which shaft carries pinions 55 and 56, which are in mesh,respectively, with gears 57 and 58 secured to stub-axles which carry thesprockets 34 and 35, thus imparting motion to the sprockets andconsequently to the chains or carriers which pass over the sprockets.The shaft 54 has likewise secured to it a pinion 59 which meshes with apinion 60 mounted upon a shaft 61, which shaft carries pinions 62 and63, which mesh, respectively, with gears 64 and 65, which latter gearsare secured to the stub-axles upon which the driving sprockets 28 and 29are mounted. This arrangement of gearing will cause one of the carriersto move in a direction the reverse of the other. It is to he noted,however, that any suitable gearing for effecting this purpose may beused.

An idler 66 will preferably be located over the chain 22, in order thatthe frame 25 which is then uppermost may be held in its proper positionbefore the introduction of a basket or crate into the same.

A steam pipe 67 will preferably be located at one side of the tank,adjacent to the outer face of the compartment 7, and spray pipes 68 and69 will be placed in the tank in line with the frames 25 when they cometo rest, or while the carriers are standing still and the chain 9 isbeing moved to introduce, transfer and discharge the crates. The steamwill tend to heat the water and also to throw said hot water directlyonto the baskets or crates in which the bottles or other containers aremounted.

A draw-off pipe 70, having its opening into the tank and located at apoint below the upper end of the tank works in conjunction with a steamnozzle 71, steam issuing from the nozzle serving to draw the waterupward through the pipe and force it through a pipe 72, with branches73, and spray pipe 74 located above the basketcarrying chains and spraythe bottles as y P 1 3 d wn ard nto the hot-water compartment. All ofthe water drawn up through the pipe will be more or less heated by thesteam jet. A drain pipe is located at the lower portion of the tank, andan overllow pipe 76 will .likewise be pro- 'vided so as to maintain theproper level of water in the tank. A filling pipe 77 will also beemployed.

It is possible, and in some cases may be desirable, to subdivide thetank to a greater extent than is indicated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive andas set forth in the above description. Thus in Fig. 6 I have shown atank which is provided with a longitudinal, centrallydisposed partition78 which extends downwardly toward the bottom of the tank and terminatesat a sufficient height therefrom to permit the passage of the conveyorchains and the baskets or crates thereunder. The chambers formed uponeach side of this partition are subdivided by a cross-partition 79,which is preferably hollow and extends from the bottom of the tank tothe top thereof, as is clearly indicated in the drawings, thus formingtour compartments 80, 81, 82 and 83.

The gearing is so arranged that the baskets are carried downwardly bythe chains in the direction indicated by the arrow, that is, throughcompartment 80 which filled with cold or relatively cold water or otherfluid, thence up through the con'ipartment 8t containing hot water, tothe advancing mechanism which transfers the basket to the carriersworking in the compartn'ient 82 which is filled with hot water, thebasket passing down through said compartment, beneath partition 78, andup through compartment 83, which is filled with cool or cold water. Atthis point it is discharged from the apparatus.

In Fig. 7 the tank is shown as divided by a longitudinalcentrally-disposed partition S t and cross-partitions 85 and 86, saidpartitions terminating at a point above the bottom of the tank andforming tour compartments 8'7, 88, S9 and 90. The gearing will be soaij'ranged that the carriers will cause the baskets to be traversed inthe direction indicated by the arrows, to wit, down tl'irough thechamber or compartment 87, up through con'lpartment 88, down throughcompartment 89, and up through compartment 90, where they will bedischarged li'rom the machine.

\Vhen cross-partitions are used it is found that the water or otherliquid in the several compartments will not intermix to so great anextent as is the case where such partitions are not employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank divided intotwo com.- partn'ients which communicate with each other at their lowerends said compartments being adapted to hold a pasteurizing agent; apair of carriers passing through each ot said compartments and moving inopposite directions; and m ans for transferring the articles to bepasteurized from one carrier to the other.

2. ln a pasleurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank divided intotwo verticallyalisposed com nirtments in open communication at theirlower ends, said compartments being adapted to contain a pasteurizingagent, means for passing the articles to be treated downwardly throughone compartment and upwardly tl'irough the other; means for traversingthe articles to be pasteurized through the compartments in a reversedirection; and means for trans- :ierring the articles 't'rom onetraversing means to the other traversing means.

3. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank divided intotwo vertically-disposed compartments communicating with each other attheir lower ends said coiapartments being adapted to contain apasteurizing agent; a pair of endless earriers passing through each ofsaid compartments; means for moving said carriers in oppositedirections; and means for translerring the articles to be pasteurimulfrom one carrier to the other, whereby the articles will be moveddownward and upward through one compartincnt, and thence downward andupward thrtmgh the other conipart-ment.

4. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the coup bination o'l a tank dividedinto two vcrti- (sadly-disposed intercomnnmieating compartments adaptedto hold a pasteurizing agent; an endless carrier mounted adjacent to oneend of the tank, i'noving downward through one compartment and upwardthrough the other; a secoml endless carrier moving through thecompartments in a direction opposite to that of the first carrier; andmeans for transferring the holders for the articles to be pasteurizedfrom one carrier to the other.

5. ln a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank formed withtwo verti- (ailly-disposed compartments communicating with each othe' attheir lower ends and adapted to hold a pasteurizing agent; a. pair ofendless carriers mounted in said tank and moving through each of thecomparlmcnts the movement thereo't being in opposite directions: meansfor transferring the crates or holders for the articles to bepasteurized from one carrier to the other; and means tor heating thewater in one of said compartments.

6. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank forn'ied withtwo vertically disposed compartments communicating with each other attheir lower ends and adapted to contain a pasteurizing agent; a pair ofendless carriers mounted in said tank and moving through each of thecompartments and in opposite directions; and means for heating the waterin one of said compartments.

7. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank provided withtwo verti callydisposed compartments communicating with each other attheir lower ends and adapted to contain a pasteurizing agent; a pair ofendless carriers mounted in the tank and moving through each of thecompartments and in opposite directions; means for imparting anintermittent stepby-step motion to said carriers; and means forintroducing crates or the like holding the articles to be pasteurizedinto one carrier and trans ferring the previously-positioned crate fromthe first carrier onto the second carrier while the two carriers are atrest.

8. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank provided withtwo verticallydisposed compartments communicating with each other attheir lower ends and adapted to contain a pasteurizing agent; a pair ofendless carriers mounted in said tank and passing through each of thecompartments and in opposite directions; means for imparting astep-by-step movement to said carriers; a conveyor located at the upperportion of the tank and acting to introduce the article-containingcrates or the like into the first carrier, transfer said crates from thefirst to the second carrier, and discharge the same therefrom; and meansfor actuating said conveyor while the endless carriers are at rest.

9. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank provided withtwo verticallydisposed compartments communicating with each other attheir lower end and adapted to hold a pasteurizing agent; a pair ofendless carriers mounted in said tank and each adapted to pass throughboth compartments, each of said carriers comprising a pair of endlesschains, cross-bars and carrying frames suspended from said cross-bars;means for imparting a step-bystep intermittent rotation to saidcarriers, one carrier moving in one direction and the other in adirection opposite thereto; a conveyer for introducing crates or likeholders for the articles to be pasteurized into the first carrier,transferring the crates previously positioned from said first carrier tothe second carrier and discharging the crates from the last-namedcarrier; and means for imparting motion to said conveyer while thecarriers are at rest.

10. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank; a hollowwall or partition extending lengthwise thereof and terminating short ofthe bottom of the tank, whereby two vertically-disposed compartmentswill be formed, adapted to contain a pasteurizing agent; means forheating the water in one of said compartments; a pair of endlesscarriers passing through both of said compartments and beneath thepartition; and means for traversing said carriers in oppositedirections.

11. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank; a partitionextending lengthwise thereof, terminating short of the bottom of thetank, whereby two verticallydisposed compartments will be formed, saidcompartments being adapted to contain a pasteurizing agent; across-partition subdividing the compartments transversely; a pair ofendless carriers each passing through both of the compartments, arrangedupon opposite sides of said lengthwise-extending partition; means fortraversing said carriers; and means for heating the pasteurizing agentin those compartments where a relatively high temperature is to be maintained.

12. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank; a hollowwall or partition extending longitudinally thereof, terminating short ofthe bottom of the tank and forming longitudinally-disposed compartments;a cross-partition or partitions dividing the longitudinallydisposedcompartments into a series of shorter compartments, each of saidcompartments being adapted to contain a pasteurizing agent; an endlesscarrier working in each of said pairs of compartments which areoppositely disposed to each other; means for traversing said carriers;and means for heating the pasteurizing agent in those compartments wherea relatively high temperature is to be maintained.

13. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank; a hollowpartition extending downwardly into the tank; a second hollow partitionlikewise extending downwardly into the tank, said partitions beingarranged crosswise with relation to each other and subdividing the tankinto a series of compartments intercommunicating with each other belowthe partitions, said compartments being adapted to contain apasteurizing agent; and means for traversing the bottles or likecontainers which are to be pasteurized through the various compartments.

14. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank; a pluralityof hollow partitions extending downwardly into said tank, saidpartitions being arranged crosswise with relation to each other and tothe tank thereby forming a series of compartments separated from eachother by airspaces or chambers said compartments being arranged tocontain a pasteurizing agent; endless carriers passing through saidcompartments; and means attached to said carriers for holding a basketor like support for bottles or similar containers which are to bepasteurized.

15. In a pasteurizing apparatus, the combination of a tank provided witha plurality of intereommunicating liquid-containing compartments; aplurality of endless carriers, each carrier extending through at leasttwo of such compartments; and means for transferring the containers forthe material being treated from one carrier to the I next, wherebyrelatively short carriers may be employed and easy access had to theval'lOllS portions of the apparatus.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 1 name to this specification inthe presence of two suhscrlbmg witnesses.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

